The week long festivities are now over, it’s finally gameday not in Saskatchewan, but across Canada, as the 109th Grey Cup will be decided tonight at Mosaic Stadium when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet the Toronto Argonauts.
Winnipeg will be chasing history tonight, if the Blue Bombers are able to pick up a victory, they would become the first team to win three straight Grey Cup since Edmonton won three Grey Cups beginning in 1978-82.
Thr0ughout Grey Cup week, there majority of the pregame chatter has been centered around Blue Bombers quarterback, Zach Collaros. The Most Outstanding Player in the CFL over the last two seasons, injured his ankle in last Sunday’s Western Final against the BC Lions.
After missing the first two practices of the week, Collaros practiced on Friday and was listed as the Blue Bombers starting quarterback on the team’s depth chart on Saturday.
Head coach Mike O’Shea was a man of few words throughout the week discussing the status of his starting quarterback, other than that he wasn’t too concerned about Collaro’s status for the Grey Cup.
Collaros himself didn’t seem too worried about missing his third straight Grey Cup.
If the Bombers starting quarterback is sidelined, Dru Brown would take over the reins for Winnipeg.
Preventing the Blue Bombers from winning their straight Grey Cup is a key member of their past two championships.
Running back Andrew Harris returned to Argos lineup during last weekend’s Eastern Final against the Montreal Alouettes after suffering a torn pectoral injury.
Last weekend Harris had nine carries with 42 yards and a touchdown in the Argos victory.
Playing against his hometown team is not a new experience for the three time Grey Cup Champion, in 2011 as a member of the BC Lions, Harris defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to claim his first Grey Cup championship.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson will get the start for the Argonauts at quarterback. It was a career year for the 34 year old as he had 4,731 yards passing with 23 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Toronto will be looking to extend their CFL record of 17 Grey Cup championships. Winnipeg is third all-time among CFL franchises with 12 Grey Cup championships.
This will be the fourth time the Grey Cup will be contested in Regina. In 1995, the Baltimore Stallions defeating the Calgary Stampeders. In 2003, Edmonton picked up a victory over Montreal. In 2013, the Saskatchewan Roughriders picked up a Grey Cup win at Taylor Field over the Hamilton Ti-Cats.
Today’s 109th Grey Cup is slated with the pregame festivities to kickoff at 5:00.
